Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus
Humble Games and Squid Shock Studios have released Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, a vibrant, Japanese folklore-inspired hand-drawn 2.5D action platformer. The game is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Humble Store and Steam.
In Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, players embody Bō, a celestial blossom (fox tentaihana) descended from the heavens to fulfill an ancient mysterious prophecy. Using a legendary Bō staff, players can bounce and glide acrobatically through an interconnected realm of hand-drawn, dreamlike landscapes, encountering strange and adorable yokai, as well as massive monsters from ancient Japanese legends.
The game features a mysterious and haunted world to explore, with a diverse and interconnected environment in a 2.5D side-scrolling action-platformer that includes elements of the Metroidvania genre. Players can journey to a haunted castle, a thriving Japanese-inspired metropolis, and many other strange and wondrous places, and then find ways to travel back and fully explore newly unlocked paths and surprises.
Players must navigate the world’s platforming challenges with acrobatic precision, elegance, and finesse. Bō’s distinctive move-and-reset system can be utilized to reach new areas efficiently or recover when footing flounders.
Additionally, players can master new staff transformations by brewing and drinking arcane teas to unlock powerful new abilities for Bō’s shapeshifting staff. They can mash foes with the Mochi Mallet, unlock new movement techniques like the Lotus Dash and Grappling Gun, and gracefully power up along their journey.
The game also allows players to collect powerful Daruma allies. Each colorful Daruma doll discovered can be upgraded and summoned to the battlefield, where these adorable and powerful allies can deploy spells and other spectacular abilities to aid in combat.
The visual style is inspired by a vibrant 2.5D vision that blends the beauty of paintings, the personality of hand-drawn illustrations, and the elegance of papercraft. Players can engage with a larger-than-life cast of bizarre and adorable yokai and other original characters inspired by Japanese myth, all brought to life with traditional hand-drawn 2D frame-by-frame animation.
Players can also challenge massive, awe-inspiring monsters drawn from Japanese folklore in mythic boss battles. These adversaries require players to call upon all the knowledge and acrobatic skill they’ve gained to advance further in their quest.
The game’s original score, composed by Moisés Camargo, blends traditional Japanese instrumentation with modern orchestral music, allowing players to drift along to the music as they immerse themselves in the game.
